This invention relates generally to the medical treatment of casualties and particularly to the medical treatment of casualties located in a contaminated environment.
Typically, when a person is injured and becomes a casualty in a contaminated environment, such as occurs in a chemical warfare confrontation, the casualty is placed within a litter bag or enclosure for transportation to a medical facility. The enclosure is manufactured of a material that inhibits or prevents the transfer of contaminants from the ambient environment to the casualty.
In many cases, it is imperative that medical treatment be given to the casualty immediately, however, in order to administer treatment, the litter bag with its casualty must first be transported into an enclosure within which medical personnel may work on the casualty or additional means must be provided for allowing access to the casualty without introducing contaminants into the enclosure containing the casualty. The apparatus currently available for treating the casualty in the field is subject to the problem of the treatment being delayed by the transportation of the casualty as well as the problem of the possible unavailability of medical facilities or unavailability of the needed additional apparatus to ensure that the casualty is protected from contaminants.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,806 to Akers and assigned to the assignee of this application, discloses a prior art evacuation apparatus for removing a casualty in a litter bag or enclosure to a treatment facility. This device is subject to the limitation of a treatment facility being available for use with the enclosure containing the casualty. Further, the access of the medical personnel to the casualty is limited since they must operate with their hands within gloves attached to the enclosure containing the casualty.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,612,916 and 4,485,490 both to Akers et al and both assigned to the assignee of this application, disclose a method and apparatus for treating the casualty located within a contaminated area by use of a glove box attached to the enclosure containing the casualty. While the means for treating the casualty does not require that the casualty be transported to a medical facility or a treatment enclosure, the glove box is somewhat bulky, and the treatment of the casualty is subject to the availability of a glove box at the site of the casualty. In addition, the glove box requires the medical personnel to work with their hands within not only their own protective gloves but also within gloves attached to the glove box such that the tactile sensitivity of the worker's hands in working on the casualty is reduced.
Thus, there is a need for an enclosure for protecting the casualty within a contaminated environment which also provides medical personnel with convenient access for rendering immediate treatment. There is also a need for an enclosure which provides medical personnel with direct access to the casualty without introducing contaminants into the enclosure containing the casualty.